BHS Parents, Faculty Respond After 'Race to Nowhere' Screening
The documentary addresses academic pressures facing students today, and what some teachers are doing to lessen their burden.
The screening of a documentary at Broadneck High School (BHS) about academic pressures facing students caused quite a stir among some faculty and parents.
The documentary, Race to Nowhere: The Dark Side of America's Achievement Culture, directed by Vicki Abeles, was shown in March to about 60 parents at BHS. Since then, there has been a push from some Broadneck community members for additional screenings.
The documentary is “a call to mobilize families, educators and policy makers to challenge current assumptions on how to best prepare the youth of America to become healthy, bright, contributing and leading citizens,” according to its website.
In the movie, a high school student poses the question, “If I can’t fail, and make mistakes, then how can I be expected to learn?”
After the screening at BHS, there was a roundtable discussion among parents and faculty members. One of the parents there, Melanie Norris, said she was stirred by the response from some teachers, who were moved by the documentary.
“One math teacher said he was going to come to work the next morning and do things differently, even if it meant he got fired," Norris said. "He was very passionate and brave."
But not everyone reacted the same way. Guidance counselor Jennifer Evans said she wasn't moved by the movie.
"It did not produce an emotional response in me," Evans said. "I always encourage students to find balance. I did before seeing the movie, and I continue to do so. The movie reiterated things that I already was aware of."
Evans was instrumental in bringing the film to the school. It was brought to BHS through a grant from the Garrett Lee Smith suicide prevention foundation. Guidance counselors Faith Culp and Evans wrote the grant proposal.
As part of that grant, the movie was offered for free to parents to raise community awareness of the issues teenagers face. As a follow up, the counselors are sponsoring question, persuade and refer training to parents on April 21. This is an opportunity for parents to learn strategies to identify suicidal behavior and what to do in order to get students the help they need, Evans said.
The 2010 documentary has been making headlines across the country. The movie doesn’t have a major theater distribution deal, but has reached audiences through local screenings at schools and community centers in more than 40 states.
More than 600 teachers and principals across the country have adopted a no-homework policy over weekends and holidays, according to a press release from the film's website.
Patch reached out to several BHS faculty members, but many chose not to respond to questions and said the film is a “hot-button issue.”
Some BHS faculty members have said they want additional screenings of the movie. The high school's AP psychology class is scheduled to show the movie to students after their final exams, but a school-wide airing isn’t on the table just yet.
Have you seen the documentary? Do you think students are overwhelmed by academic pressures today?
Carolyn Matthews
2:18 pm on Thursday, April 12, 2012
I did not see the film. However, if there is to be a let up in the pressures for academics, it will need to start from higher education/college admission offices first. No high school should stop a rigorous program so long as competition for college admission, and especially for college merit scholarships remains intense.
I commend the orchestra and chorus departments at BHS for always being cooperative in allowing students to participate in their programs without being overly demanding of their time, and for understanding when students have other activities that conflict with rehearsals, etc. If you have ever head one of the BHS music groups perform, you know that there is no sacrifice of quality!
I don't believe either of my sons (class of 2010 and class of 2013) felt overwhelming pressure from the school or any particular classes; at least not more than needed to keep them motivated and intentional about their work. Yes, there are high pressure times of the semester, especially in AP classes - but take a look into the AP classrooms at the end of May, after the exams... I don't think you'll find that learning new card games or watching movies are overly challenging activities. There is always a balance.
Rich Glass
9:08 pm on Thursday, April 12, 2012
I have not see the film either, but I will say my 6th grader, has about 3 hours of home work almost every night. There has been many times that she stresses over not having enough time to complete everything. And on more than one occasions, her homework was something they never even went over in class.
How can we expect our children to think creatively when the people who run the system cant think creatively. I'll give you a prime example. I know that in my kids school they have a smart board in some of the classes. It's basically an interactive white board that is hooked to the internet, and functions almost exactly like a PC.
There is absolutely no reason that parents should not be able to see everything that was taught on that board that day and access it via an interactive website. That way if our kids had a problem with their homework, we could see exactly how the teacher did it and help them with it. But that wont happen because most of the teachers don't know how to use it. Some of the teachers don't want to use it, but it's mostly because the people who run the school board are to worried about making THEIR grade.
Our kids today do not learn like we did, and that's OK. This world is changing faster than any other time in history, yet we continue to teach our children the same way we have for the last 50 years.
Maribel Ibrahim
6:25 pm on Thursday, April 12, 2012
The movie definitely affected me. The pressure that kids are facing is the need to conform to many conflicting demands. No Child Left Behind put a huge focus on testing that now kids are not really learning but preparing for tests. The pressure is particularly telling when my second grader scores a 92% (missed one question) on a math test and says he's terrible in math. He has not even started getting grades, but the pressure to excel on tests in school is already there.
It's not the teachers' fault either. Their hands are tied to follow stringent mandates that do not give room for differences in learning styles. School funding and compensation is driven by test results.
The expectations of having extra curricular activities and AP classes in order to succeed fill up available "free" time to the brim. Athletics is also a key player, and since athletics provides funds for both schools and scholarship recipients, many school decision are made in the name of sports before considering other factors.
There are so many issues in public schools, but the most intrinsic, basic need is for a student to get the sleep they need. With the trend of schools to start earlier to save money on bus runs, student health has consistently taken a back seat.
Fixing the sleep issue will give students and staff the ability to grapple with all of the other challenges mentioned above. This is why I created www.StartSchoolLater.net and co-founded the national movement behind it.
Heather Macintosh
7:14 pm on Thursday, April 12, 2012
If academics in high school is going to be like kids' sports around here, then I know our family will be struggling to resist the pressure for more-better-faster.
We all know our kids need balance, down-time, vegetables, and a good night's sleep- but we keep driving them to games and practices an hour away from home or we spend the weekend standing around a field. I'm totally guilty! It's hard to say no to a second sport or a music lesson, even if it means being out till 9 on a school night and eating a sandwich for dinner.
The amount of pressure a student feels seems to be so different depending on their school environment and community. Is a Broadneck or Severna Park High really so much more challenging and filled with expectations than other high schools? Parents I talk to really believe it is. What's the deal with that?
If the pressure is actually coming from college admissions departments as Carolyn suggested, then are all kids/all high schools feeling it equally? Does an individual school or community "buy in" to a culture of competition? What happens if your kid just doesn't play the game - are they going to get into a good college and be fulfilled in their careers?
This is the conversation of our generation - we're always talking about school issues! The pressure is intense to make the right decision from the first school years. I guess I feel that parents need to be in charge - not schools, coaches,or colleges, however well-intentioned.